For those people who have taken Intro. Psychology

[jso1983]

Hi. I was suppose to take this exam today but I didn't feel like I was ready for it so I moved the test date to next Tuesday. I have read a few comments from the feedback section and many people have said "Just Know the Basic". Currently, I am studying REA book and IC and Psychology textbook right now. I really don't understand when people said "BASIC STUFF". Do you mean like looking for definitions of terms and reasoning questions such as classical and operant conditioning? I took the practice test from the REA book and some questions weren't even mentioned in the book. Things like GABA, Acethylcholine, Phi Phenomenon etc. When I felt like I was ready, just more new things were coming up to scare me off (Things like brain structures and Vision structures etc). Oh, I just realized that information from Sparknotes pretty much has everything. I guess to put my question in a simple way, do I need to know everything from SparkNotes? Different types of Hormones and their functions kinda things? I have never taken this course before so this test is pressuring me real bad. I would really appreciate if anyone can help me out.

[ShotoJuku]

[COLOR="Navy"]Trying to figure out and isolate just what "the basics" are will do you more harm than good.

There are no basics, the ENTIRE exam IS the basics through-and-through so you NEED to understand and comprehend all of the material. In the end, you will recognize certain "basic" (common) fundamentals and principles that weave in-and-out of many questions but make no mistake about it you MUST be familiar with everything.

Try the Petersons practice exams for feedback - Good Luck![/COLOR]

[thatbrian]

Take the REA practice tests. If you can score 60 or better you will pass the CLEP. I know this is easier said than done, but you need relax. Taking the practice exams will give you some confidence.

[lwmcc]

Having taken this one a bit over a month ago, I agree completely that to do well on it, you do need to know pretty much everything in the REA book cold, and then some. But rather than stressing, realize that for every hour you spend getting all of this 'broad survey of Psych' stuff down cold, you will get a payoff on not just this test, but several other CLEPs and DSSTs. Psych methodology has infiltrated tons of other disciplines! :-) I've found that having devoted enough time to really know all of the Intro Psych stuff has shortened my required study time on other tests significantly.

Beyond REA, I'd suggest focusing hard on the Behavioral Conditioning stuff (Watson, Pavlov, Skinner, etc.) - the 'ins and outs' of BC show up not only on this test, but again and again on test after test, most especially on various Business- related tests, Biology, etc. Also focus hard on the Developmental theories - you'll see a lot of Erickson and Piaget on this test and others. Get the details on all of the various research methodologies down cold, too - again, you'll see these same details on test after test. Little Alfred, Zimbardo Prison Study, and various other instrumental experimental studies are also good to be aware of. The parts of the brain and nervous system are important on the test, the major hormones, too, but not to the extent that the BC, Dev, and Research methodologies are.

If you know this stuff cold, you'll also be more than 50% of the way there for the 'focused Psych' CLEPs Human Growth & Development and Educational Psych.

To give you an idea of how really, really knowing this stuff cold can help you on not just this test, but others, here's a quick survey of subjects/tests I've found portions of Psych on: Biology, Organizational Behavior, Marketing, Human Resource Mgmt., Project Management, Intro to Business, Economics, Sociology. So, rather than stressing out over the amount to learn to succeed on this test, remind yourself that what you're learning now can be applied over and over again on other subjects, so what you're really doing when you study for this one longer is allowing yourself to be able to study less for future subjects. :-)

[jso1983]

Thanks guys.
I feel better now about this test. My mind is just not willing to study if I'm not 100% clear about something. That's why I was getting frustrated when seeing new information one after another. Since I know that I have to study them all, it sucks, but at least I'm willing to study those things now.

Once again, Thank you.

[radeonator2048]

I passed the test in May with a 64. If you know 75% of the IC questions, have read the REA book a few times and are scoring alright on the Peterson's and the REA practice tests you will do fine. As with any test there will be a few vaque curveball questions but most were pretty common sense. The beauty of multiple choice is that you can recognize the best answer rather than have to come up with it cold. Good luck on the test and I'm sure you will score well.

Aaron

[jso1983]

I thought Peterson's practice exams were free trial but the website is requiring me to pay for it. How do you take those practice exams?

[HawkGuy]

I used the IC flashcards, Sparknotes, and Wikipedia and it worked for me. If you want to know more on a specific topic, just look it up on either Wiki or Google.

[JDSmith]

Yeah, I have the same problem sometimes. It's easy to get stressed out over a test. I think the next test I'm going to take will be Intro. Psych. then you can help me out.

[DetroitSki]

If there were ever an exam that lends itself to an IC Only approach, its Intro to Psych.

Just pay the few bucks!

It's well worth it. Once you can run thru the cards with little to no errors, I GUARANTEE u have the knowledge set to pass.